Horses kill more people in Australia than venomous animals combined

Horses kill more people in Australia than venomous animals combined - Australian creepy crawlies get a really bad reputation. Yes, Australia has some of the most venomous animals in the world, but did you know that horses kill more people than our poisonous snakes and spiders combined? Read on to find out more about a recently published fascinating study that tells you more about the dangers of bugs and horses!

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Horses - In a recently published fascinating study it was established that horses are responsible for more deaths than venomous animals combined in Australia.

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Research - The research study was conducted by the University of Melbourne's Dr Ronelle Welton.

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Data - The doctor studied hospital admissions data and coroner's records.

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Thirteen years - The study took data from the years 2000 to 2013 and discovered a total of 74 deaths resulting from horses.

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Bees - During the same time period, bees and other stinging insects were the next most deadly, causing 27 deaths.

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Snakes - Snakes also claimed 27 lives in the same time period, but sent fewer people to the hospital than stinging insects.

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Spiders - Perhaps most surprisingly, spiders were not responsible for any recorded deaths.

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Hospital visits - Spiders may not have accounted for any deaths, but they were responsible for sending 11,994 to hospital between 2001 and 2013.

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The study - The study was published in Internal Medicine Journal.

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Challenging - The study author was interested in challenging the stereotypes surrounding Australia's venomous animals.

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Epicentre - Speaking to the BBC, Dr Welson said, "Australia is known as the epicentre of all things venomous".

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Surprising - She said that what was surprising was that insects caused the most people to seek treatment in hospital.

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Allergic - The doctor concluded that allergic reactions to bites and stings caused the most danger, resulting in hospital visits. However, horses caused more actual deaths.

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Focus - The original focus of the study was to find out about Australian insect deaths and hospitalisation.

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Equine theory - However, she inadvertently discovered the high number of deaths related to horses in the process.

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Wasps and bees - Bees killed 25 people and wasps killed two between 2000 and 20013. However, they were responsible for sending 12,351 to hospital.

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Snake stats - Australian venomous snakes were responsible for 27 deaths and 6,123 visits to the hospital.

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Scary snakes - Most snakes don't want to bite you. When out in the bush, make lots of noise to scare them away before you meet.

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Box death - Box jellyfish were responsible for three deaths between 2000 and 2013.

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Marine animals - Marine animals sent 3,707 to Australian hospitals between 2001 and 2013.

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Ticks and ant deaths - Ticks and ants were responsible for five deaths between 2000 and 2013.

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Ticks and ants hospital - Ticks and ants were responsible for 4,533 hospital visits between 2001 and 2013.

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Scorpions - There were no scorpion-related recorded deaths, but there were 41 hospital visits due to the creatures.

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Centipedes and millipedes - Centipedes and millipedes didn't kill anyone, but they did send 119 people to the emergency room between 2001 and 2013.

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The great unknown - Dr Welton recorded two deaths from 'unknown animal or plant'. Which isn't creepy at all...

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Crocs - Crocodiles continue to be the bad reptiles of Australia and were responsible for 19 deaths from 2000 to 2013.

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Sharks - 26 people died as a result of shark attacks within the study period.

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Bad dog - Dogs were responsible 23 deaths during the study period of 2000 to 2013.

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In conclusion - The figures reveal that of all Australia’s venomous creatures, it is bees and other insects – not snakes, spiders, or jellyfish – that pose the biggest public health threat.

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